Wisconsin Assembly Bill AB1212

Wisconsin 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 3/19/26
• Refer: 3/19/26
• Failed: 3/23/26

Caption

An Act to repeal 7.51 (2) (e), 7.51 (2) (em) 1., 7.51 (2) (em) 2., 7.52 (4) (e), 7.52 (4) (em) 1. and 7.52 (4) (em) 2.; to renumber 7.08 (6), 7.51 (2) (em) 3. and 7.52 (4) (em) 3.; to amend 6.875 (5), 7.51 (2) (e), 7.52 (4) (e) and 9.01 (1) (b) 4. a.; to create 7.08 (6) (b), 7.51 (2) (em), 7.52 (4) (em) and 7.58 of the statutes; Relating to: performing risk-limiting audits and eliminating the process for removing excess ballots from the vote count. (FE)

Summary

AB1212 would overhaul Wisconsin election auditing procedures by requiring county clerks to conduct risk-limiting audits beginning with elections held after January 1, 2027. A risk-limiting audit is a statistically based manual review of randomly selected paper ballots designed to limit the chance that an incorrect preliminary outcome is certified. The bill directs counties to audit selected statewide contests, requires public notice and transparency measures, sets rules for selecting contests and audit teams, and gives the Elections Commission authority to issue guidance, standards, templates, and transitional procedures. It also creates an expedited audit option for certain presidential contests and requires counties to publish audit materials and results on a tight timeline. The bill also changes how election officials handle ballot reconciliation when the number of ballots exceeds the number of voters on the poll list. Under current law, excess ballots are removed from the count by random draw and preserved uncounted. AB1212 would end that practice and instead require all excess ballots to be counted, fully documented, and incorporated into risk-limiting audit procedures. If the discrepancy exceeds 0.5 percent of ballots cast in an audit unit, the Elections Commission must investigate the cause. The bill further amends recount procedures so that documented excess-ballot discrepancies are included in recount and audit calculations. In practical terms, the bill would affect county clerks, municipal inspectors, absentee ballot canvassing boards, the Wisconsin Elections Commission, and election administrators statewide. It would add new duties related to ballot reconciliation, chain of custody, public reporting, data uploads, and audit planning, while also requiring the commission to coordinate risk-limiting audits with existing voting-system performance audits. The bill’s effective dates phase in the new excess-ballot rules in 2027 and the broader risk-limiting audit framework beginning with elections after January 1, 2027. Because no committee transcript or vote history is provided, there is no recorded public debate or roll-call sentiment in the materials. Based on the bill text alone, the measure appears to be framed as an election-integrity and transparency proposal, with an emphasis on statistically grounded verification of results and preservation of legally cast ballots. The overall tone of the proposal is procedural and technical rather than partisan, but it clearly imposes significant new administrative requirements on election officials. The main point of contention likely concerns the shift away from discarding excess ballots and toward counting them, as well as the added workload, cost, and implementation complexity of statewide risk-limiting audits. Supporters would likely emphasize stronger election verification, transparency, and preservation of valid votes, while critics may focus on administrative burden, timing, and whether the new procedures could complicate canvassing and certification.

Impact

AB1212 would amend Wisconsin election law by creating a new statutory framework for risk-limiting audits in chapter 7 and by revising canvass, absentee ballot, and recount provisions to incorporate documented ballot discrepancies. It would repeal the existing practice of randomly removing excess ballots from the count and replace it with a requirement to count and document those ballots, then factor the discrepancy into audit and recount procedures. The bill also expands the Wisconsin Elections Commission’s rulemaking, guidance, and oversight responsibilities and imposes new reporting, data-sharing, and public-access obligations on counties and local election officials.

Sentiment

No committee discussion or vote record is included, so there is no direct evidence of legislative sentiment from hearings or roll calls. The bill’s structure suggests a generally pro-audit, pro-transparency approach to election administration, with the stated goal of improving confidence in outcomes through statistical verification and public reporting. At the same time, the detailed implementation requirements indicate that the measure may draw concern from election administrators over cost, staffing, and timing.

Contention

The most notable policy dispute is likely over the elimination of the current excess-ballot removal process and the requirement that all excess ballots be counted and reconciled instead. Another likely area of contention is the operational burden of statewide risk-limiting audits, including public notice, data uploads, chain-of-custody documentation, audit-team staffing, and coordination with existing performance audits. Supporters are likely to argue that these changes improve accuracy and election integrity, while opponents may argue that they create unnecessary complexity, delay certification, and increase administrative costs for counties and the Elections Commission.